Monday, August 19, 2013

Adventures in Baking: Irish Brown Soda Bread.

I rarely buy sliced bread anymore. I still buy whole wheat thin bagels, which are excellent for my Breakfast Power Sammich; and I buy whole grain English muffins, which I love for my healthier eggs Benedict. But I don't buy sandwich bread anymore. Instead I'll bake biscuits and loaves of bread. I'll let them cool completely to prevent mold, and store them in the bags of past store-bought baked goods.

Today I finally tried this recipe; I would have tried it sooner, but I didn't have buttermilk. The only adjustment I made was the addition of flax seed; needless to say, the extra dry ingredient meant I ended up having to add a little extra liquid to compensate, so I am adjusting the recipe accordingly.

Here is my trusty old stand mixer. I've had it for 8 years. It only comes with two sets of attachments; the default ones for cake batter and the like, and they curly doohickies. These are the ones I use for bread. O, if I only I had a Kitchen Aid with the bread hook attachment!

I tend to be messy when measuring dry ingredients; I find this to be the easiest way to measure flour with a way to put the extra that falls out back into the bag.

The recipe tells you to mix until a ball forms. Well, without a dough hook, no ball will ever come from this mixer. I definitely struggled to form this loaf.

Before...

...after.

1. Preheat the over to 400 degrees Fahrenheit, and grease your baking sheet. Combine your dry ingredients in the mixing bowl and stir in enough buttermilk to make a fairly soft dough. Turn onto a work surface dusted with whole wheat flour and knead lightly until smooth. (Unfortunately, nothing about it was "light"; I was attempting to get the crumbly bits to stick together.)
2. Form the dough into a circle, about 1-1/2 inch think. Lay on the baking sheet and mark a deep cross in the top with a floured knife.
3. Bake for about 45 minutes, or until the bread is browned and sounds hollow when tapped on the base. (There was nothing hollow about mine.) Cool on a wire rack. If a soft crust is preferred (which was, in my case), wrap the loaf in a clean dishtowel while cooling.

About Me

I am a semi-organic foodie with a passion for cooking, reading, and now gardening. My goal is to be able to procure the vast majority of my produce from my backyard, and to one day get my meat in bulk from local farms that raise their animals in pastures, not crowded cells.